Man from Lamar is charged with murdering, raping kidnapped girl

The prosecuting attorney said he'll decide later whether to seek a death penalty against Bobby Bourne Jr.

Adriaunna Horton's sister holds a picture of the missing girl on Tuesday, a day after a man took the 12-year-old girl from a park near her home in Golden City.

LAMAR, Mo. -- The Barton County prosecuting attorney late Friday afternoon charged a man for the murder of a 12-year-old girl from Golden City. Adriaunna Horton's body was found Wednesday afternoon after she was kidnapped on Monday afternoon. At a news conference on Friday afternoon, law enforcement officials wouldn’t say how Adriaunna died or talk about other evidence around her body or from the autopsy.

Bobby D. Bourne Jr., 34, of Lamar is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree statutory rape, forcible rape and kidnapping. Adriaunna was playing at Hazel's Park near her home in Golden City with friends and a sister after her first day of school. Her father says Bourne used to work for him and Adriaunna was acquainted with him and his daughter. The other children said Bourne asked Adriaunna to get in his car to help him look for his daughter.

At the news conference, Barton County Sheriff Mitchell Shaw recapped the search for Adriaunna, whose body was found east of Golden City in Dade County. He said, when his department got the 9-1-1 call from Adriaunna’s father, he knew his department was going to need assistance. Shaw said he immediately contacted the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Southwest Missouri Major Case Squad.

Advertisement

“Being a father myself, the first thing I said to myself was, ‘I need help,' and started making telephone calls, and, like I said, the response was great,” said Shaw.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Mike Watson thanked the many agencies and volunteers involved in the search. He said more than 100 law enforcement officers and more than 250 volunteers helped with the search.

Barton County Prosecuting Attorney Steven Kaderly said a judge sealed the court file on Bourne’s kidnapping case so the investigation wouldn’t be compromised. Kaderly wouldn’t talk about the evidence against Bourne. He said he agreed with the case file remaining sealed so detectives can do their jobs.

Kaderly says Bourne's crimes were committed in Barton County. He said he'll decide later whether to seek a death penalty, based on the details of the case. Kaderly said the Missouri Attorney General's Office will help him prosecute Bourne.

Watson said Adriaunna’s body was on private land. He said investigators followed leads to find it, but wouldn’t comment on what led them to the location of the body. The Highway Patrol spokesman said detectives have interviewed and talked to several people, but wouldn't comment on whether any other individuals may be connected to the case.

The sheriff said Bourne was arrested about 6:30 p.m. Monday, 90 minutes after the kidnapping and about five or six blocks away from Hazel’s Park. Adriaunna’s body was found about 1 p.m. Wednesday. The autopsy was in Springfield on Thursday morning.

The online court file says Bourne is scheduled to make his first court appearance on this case on Monday at 2. Shaw said he moved Bourne to the Jasper County jail in Carthage for his own protection from other inmates because it’s a more secure jail. A judge raised Bourne's bond to $2 million from $1 million after the murder and rape charges were filed.

“It is a very heartbreaking, heartbreaking situation that’s going on right now, not only for the family, but the community over there is so close, tight knit,” said Shaw.

“This isn’t something that goes away from our community,” said Audra Joyce Willis, a friend of the Horton family. “This is something that’s going to haunt all of us. We teach our children to trust, to love, to be forgiving. What do we tell our children now?”

“The whole situation is frustrating. We don’t want to be here. We don’t want to be having this press conference today,” the sheriff said.

The community is frustrated too.

“This is a tragedy,” said Willis. “This guy has been in trouble several times. Why wasn’t he locked up? Could this have been prevented?”

Law enforcement officers couldn’t say when Bourne was last released from jail.

Despite the anger and heartache, the community is pulling together.

“All we know is that God holds everything in His hands. He’s the only thing we got now to hold onto as a community, and we are, they are that kind of community,” said Willis.